Until we find a way
by DahliaRose83
Summary: She hadn t thought it would be so hard. But she also hadn t known what new tragedy awaited them. He had promised to find a way and she could only hope he would. (My take on season 4, Ep. 15) Caroline/Tyler
1. Chapter 1

**I wrote this quite a while ago. Originally in german. I finally got around to translating it. Hope you like.**

Until we find a way

9 hours and 24 minutes. Exactly 9 hours and 24 minutes had gone by, since she watched Tyler leave. Maybe never to return. Caroline didn`t know what had made her look at her watch, after the man she loved more than antything had dissappeared into the darkness. She also didn`t know how long she had been just sitting on the Gilbert`s porch afterwards, staring off into space, without really seeing anything.

Klaus, leaving the Gilbert-home had finally roused her from her brooding. His words had scared her. More than she liked to admit. The spell, holding him captive, had lost its power and Caroline couldn`t help but wonder why. Had something happened to Bonnie? The fear for her friend had finally spurred her. With trembling fingers she had dialed Bonnie`s number. No answer. Close to panicing she had tried calling the others - Elena, Stefan, even Damon. But she couldn`t reach anyone, which caused her to think about all the horrible things, that could have happened. All the things that could have gone wrong.

Maybe Shane had betrayed the others. She had warned Bonnie from the start not to trust that professor! Or maybe Rebekka had gone mad and killed everyone. Or maybe they had awoken Silas and he had massacred them.

It had taken a lot of willpower for Caroline to shake off these dark thoughts and calm down. "Don`t be stupid!" she had finally chided herself. Shane may be clever and cunning, but he was still only human. Even if he had some dark evil plan, he wouldn`t stand a chance against three vampires, an original, a witch and a hunter. Just like Rebekka wouldn`t stand a chance against her friends. And as far as Silas was concerned... well, maybe he wasn`t really as bad, as the legends said. After all, Klaus wasn`t really the monster she had expected him to be either, even if Caroline had a hard time admitting that just now.

Okay, so she couldn`t reach her friends. But there was a plausible and completely harmless reason for that. Caroline was almost sure of it. Maybe they just didn`t have a signal. The connection was really bad from the start. It had probably just gotten worse. Maybe there was even a special kind of magic on that isle, or at least in parts of that isle, which blocked Bonnie`s power and therefore caused her spell to break.

Caroline decided she liked that explanation. She liked it better than any alternative she could come up with, so she decided to believe it. She had to think positive. And she had to do something to distract herself. To get her mind off the fact, that she didn`t know how the others were doing. So she had started cleaning the house. And it had worked. At least for a little while.

But now, kneeling in the Gilbert-kitchen, scrubbing the floor, where Kol`s burned corpse had left a scorched mark, she found her eyes wandering to the clock and she thought of Tyler. She wondered where he might be right now. Was Klaus already after him? Would she ever see him again, or would he really forget her, like he promised? Sniffing she tried to think about something else, scrubbing at the scorch mark vigorously. When she heard a car come to a stop outside, she ignored it at first. Only when the door opened, did she stand up.

"Hey, you're home. I was trying to clean the burn mark where Kol..." she tried to explain her dishelved appearance. But the words died on her tongue as she saw Stefan carrying a lifeless Jeremy into the house. Elena`s little brother looked peaceful, like he was only sleeping. But Caroline knew that he wasn`t asleep. She couldn`t hear his heartbeat. Her own heart broke, while she watched Elena, who ordered for Jeremy to be brought to his room, firmly believing that her brother would wake up soon.

The next few minutes were a living nightmare. Stefan left Elena upstairs, where she kept vigil over her dead brother, to fill Caroline in on what had happened on the island. Completely shocked she heard of Katherine`s surprising appearance, Bonnie`s disappearance and Jeremy`s death. Stefan wasn`t even sure who had killed Jeremy. Maybe it was Katherine. Maybe it was Silas. All he knew was that they had come too late.

Caroline wanted nothing more, than to hide in a corner and cry until the pain subsided. Or at least until she had no more tears left. For she knew that all the tears in the world couldn`t take away her pain. Just like she knew, that she wouldn`t hide. She had to be strong. For her friends. For Elena, who needed her more than ever.

The brunet still clung to the desperate hope, that the ring would revive Jeremy. Even though she knew, deep down, that it wouldn`t work. Caroline fled onto the porch. Without really thinking about it her trembling fingers dialed Tyler`s number. It switched to voicemail almost immediately and Caroline was disappointed, although she hadn`t expected him to actually answer the phone. "Hey. I know that I'm not supposed to be calling, but something happened, and I need to talk to you, Tyler." She could barely hold back a sob. "So please call me." She hung up and fought back tears.

When Stefan stepped out onto the porch she appeared at least somewhat calm. They talked a little and Caroline started planning. "We need to make plans, lists. We need a funeral or a cover story, or a funeral and a cover story. I should go tell my mom. I guess she'll know what to do." she murmured more confident than she felt. Stefan just nodded and reminded her that they had to tell Matt as well.

„You're right. I will do that. I will call Matt, and then I will go tell my mom, and then I will make a list or a casserole or- I don't know- whatever people are supposed to do or make in these situations."

She was babbling and she knew it. But she just couldn`t help it. She felt close to a nervous breakdown. Jeremy was dead, Bonnie was missing, Tyler was on the run. And she was left to take care of things. Who else would if she didn`t? Stefan had his hands full trying to be there for Elena and Damon was still on that damn island, searching for Bonnie.

Caroline ignored her own pain, sadness and fear for the moment and concentrated on doing what had to be done. She called Matt, trying to tell him the shocking news of Jeremy`s death as gently as she could. After she was sure that Matt would be okay for the moment she called her mother. Each time it got harder to say the words, but she managed to appear strong. The sheriff promised to call Dr. Fell, so Caroline allowed herself a short moment of weekness and tried again to call Tyler. Again she only reached the voicemail. Disappointed she returned inside, hiding her own pain and sadness to be there for Elena.

Finally Damon called and at least a little of the weight seemed to be lifted off Caroline`s shoulders when she heard that Bonnie was alive and on her way home. The witch also believed she could still save Jeremy and Caroline started to hope that maybe everything would be okay again. A hope that quickly died, when Bonnie finally arrived and told them that she was going to bring back every dead supernatural being. Not only Caroline knew that they couldn`t let that happen. The others thought so as well. Even Elena, who finally realised that her brother was really dead.

Caroline had never felt as helpless as she did when she had to watch Elena fall apart. It pained to see her friend that way and the blonde was glad, when Damon finally intervened, telling the brunet to switch off her emotions. Although this cold, rational Elena scared her even more than the broken, devastated Elena.

In the end Caroline had to accept that there was nothing she could do for her friend at the moment. That there was really nothing she could do at all. And once again she found herself dialing that one number.

„Hey, it's me. Look, I hate to leave this on your voicemail, but I think that you need to know. .. Jeremy's dead, Tyler. I'm so sorry. I thought that you would call and I could tell you, but then you didn't, so- Just call me when you get this, okay? I need you, and there's no way that yesterday was the last time that I'm ever going to see you or talk to you. It can't be. So just... call me, Tyler. Please.

She hung up before the first sob slipped past her lips. The phone fell from her hand, as she sunk down onto the bed and finally allowed herself to cry. All the pain, the fear and sadness she had held back came crushing down on her and she cried until she had no tears left. Completely worn out she finally fell into a fitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sighing Tyler rubbed his eyes with one hand, while the other clung to the steering wheel. He had no idea how long he`d been driving. Or where he was going, for that matter. He`d just been driving, changing highways every now and then. At first he`d thought about going to the Apalachian mountains. Klaus hadn`t found him while he was there to break the sire bond. Maybe he wouldn`t find him now.

He knew that there would be a wolf-pack. They wouldn`t mind him staying for a while. But he would endanger them. And the last thing he wanted was for someone else to die at the hands of Klaus because of him. It was his fault that Klaus had killed those hybrids. They had trusted him and he wasn`t there when they needed him.

That they had only been there because of Hailey, that she had betrayed him as well, didn`t really matter. He shouldn`t have trusted her so blindly. It was his fault. And not only the blood of those twelve hybrids was on his hands. Chris death was his fault as well. Chris had trusted him, had let Tyler talk him into betraying Klaus and lost his life because of that. Tyler wouldn`t endanger any more lifes. He wouldn`t ask anyone for help and try to fend for himself.

That would be best. For him and anyone else. That way no one would be subjected to Klaus' wrath because of him. And Tyler wouldn`t lose another person he cared for. He had lost too many people close to him over the last few years and he didn`t know how many more losses he could survive, before he broke down completely.

The death of his father hadn`t been that hard. Their relationship had always been difficult. His father had made him feel inferior. Like he wasn`t good enough. No matter how hard Tyler tried, he never got a praise from his father. But his sudden and unexpected death was still a shock for Tyler. Even if Mason`s death had hit him a lot harder. He`d always gotten along with his uncle. Mason was cool. He was easy to talk to and he`d always treated Tyler like an equal. He hadn`t looked down him like his father. And then there was the whole werewolf thing. Mason had disappeared when Tyler needed him the most.

Back then he`d tried to play it cool, while in reality he was scared as hell. All the more after he`d seen the video of Mason`s transformation. He still remembered how disappointed he was in his uncle, who just vanished without leaving a note and wouldn`t even answer his calls. But finding out that Mason was dead and that Caroline had known all along hurt even more. It had taken him quite some time to understand why she had lied to him and to realize that she hadn`t just been there for him out of pity, but because she cared. Back then he had felt betrayed and utterly alone.

That was the main reason he had left with Jules. She had known Mason and she knew what he was going through. What it meant to be a werewolf. And she really helped him, even if she didn`t just do it out of the goodness of her heart. He had liked her. But she too had died. And for her death he felt guilty as well. She was in Mystic Falls because of him.

The death of his twelve fellow hybrids was worse though, since it had been directly his fault. But all that was nothing, compared to the pain of losing his mother. Their relationship had changed only recently. They had gotten closer after the death of his father. And after she had witnessed his transformation that one time, she seemed to view him differently, to understand him better. Tyler remembered their last conversation. He had told her about his plan to take out Klaus and although she had feared for his safety, she had also been proud of him. She had looked at him with pride and even a little admiration. And it had meant the world to him.

Had he ever told her that? Had he ever told her, that he loved her and that he was proud of her as well? He couldn`t remember. And now it was too late. Klaus had taken away his last remaining family member.

Now Caroline was all he had left. His beautiful, clever, strong, caring and sometimes irrational girlfriend, who was home in Mystic Falls, waiting for him to find a way to escape Klaus wrath. Caroline, who he had almost lost twice already. Both times because of Klaus. First when Klaus ordered him to bite her and he did it, because of that damn sire bond. And the second time just yesterday, when Klaus bit her himself and almost let her die, just to teach Tyler a lesson. Tyler knew that Caroline would be dead now if Klaus hadn`t fallen for her as well. Then he would really be completely alone.

Caroline was the only thing that kept him going right now. Knowing that she was alive and well comforted him at least a little. Even when he didn`t know when he would see her again. If he would ever see her again at all. He promised her they would find a way. But what if he didn`t? What if there was no way for them to be together again?

The thought of living without her tore at his heart. It made breathing difficult and brought tears to his eyes. Tyler pulled over, turned off the engine and took a deep breath. Then he got out of the car and walked a few steps. After leaving Mystic Falls he`d only stopped once and his muscles protested from sitting in the car so long. He had no idea where he was. Lost in the middle of nowhere, he mused. There didn`t seem to be a town or anything nearby. The empty countryside looked rather depressing, matching his feelings perfectly.

Without really thinking about it he pulled his mobile out. He`d turned it off, fearing Klaus might be able to track him if he left it on. Now he turned it back on, surprised that he had a few missed calls. Four of them were from Caroline. Anticipating the worst he listened to her messages immediately.

"I know I shouldn`t call you..." he heard Caroline´s voice. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears and Tyler was immediately worried. What had happened in the short amount of time since he`d left? He started pacing nervously, while he listened to her other messages. The trembling in her voice got stronger by the second. He could picture her clearly, sitting in her room with the phone pressed to her ear, trying not to cry.

Just thinking about it tore at his heart. He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her. He wanted to hold her and take away her sadness. But there were probably hundreds of miles separating them by now. And to return to Mystic Falls would be his death. It just wasn`t fair! She needed him and he couldn`t be there for her. Angry he kicked a small rock, trying to surpress a scream of rage.

And then he heard her last message. Trembling he fell to his knees, tears burned in his eyes. There had been a time when he couldn`t stand Jeremy Gilbert. When he wanted to kick him whenever he saw him. But that was a lifetime ago it seemed. They became friends. And now Jeremy was dead. Once again Tyler had lost someone he cared about. Motionless he sat in the dirt next to the street, the phone pressed against his ear. Matt had left him a message as well, his voice trembling almost as much as Caroline`s. Tyler listened to his words, too shocked to move. Too shocked to even think.

Long after the last message had ended he finally turned off the phone again. He took a deep breath and got up slowly. And he made a decision. His friends needed him. Caroline needed him. Nothing else mattered right now. Spurred into motion by his own thoughts he practically ran back to the car, jumped in and started the engine. With screeching tires he drove off into the darkness. Back to Mystic Falls.


	3. Chapter 3

With trembling fingers Caroline smoothed down her dress. She hated wearing black. You wore black at funerals. She had to wear black way too often in the last few month.

Sighing she looked at the burned down ruins that were once the Gilbert family home. Candles, flowers and cards were placed in front of the place. The news of this new tragedy had spread quickly. She didn`t know how her mother and the major would explain the fire. Gas-leak probably. Just like on the Young farm. Caroline didn`t really care. She had other things to worry about.

When she suggested this little gathering as a sort of memorial for Jeremy, Elena had just shrugged and said: "sure, why not." There probably wouldn`t be a official funeral, but the blonde thought Jeremy deserved at least a memorial. And his friends needed a chance to say goodbye. A chance to mourn. Even if not all of them agreed with her.

Caroline let her eyes sweep over the small group of people that had gathered. Elena`s face was an expressionless mask and the blonde felt chills just from looking at her. She hoped Damon knew what he was doing. He was standing on Elena`s left side, while Stefan stood to her right. The two brothers seemed to have buried their feud for the moment, while they both concentrated on helping Elena. Matt was watching the brunette with a worried expression, while he tried to console the weeping April.

Bonnie on the other hand didn`t shed a tear. The young witch was staring at the candles with a faraway look. She didn`t really appear to be grieving, instead looking more lost in thought, which fueled Caroline`s fear that she hadn`t given up on her crazy plan. Yet another problem she had to take care of.

The blonde was tired. She hadn`t slept much last night, thinking of all the things that had to be taken care of. She felt like there was an enormous weight on her shoulders. It was hard to stay strong for her friends, to hold back her own tears, when she felt so utterly helpless and alone.

Why was it so quiet? The only sound disturbing the silence where April`s muffled sobs. They shouldn`t just stand there, staring at the candles they had lit for Jeremy. They should share their memories of him. Wasn`t that what you did at a memorial?

But even as she thought it, Caroline knew she couldn`t get a word out. It was hard enough to just keep breathing evenly. To keep the tears at bay. And then all of sudden there was a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her back against a broad chest. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew who was holding her, without having to look. She recognized his touch, his scent. But it couldn`t be. He couldn`t be here.

"Tyler..." It was only a whisper, but immediately his arms tightened around her. "What are you...? You can`t be here. You need to leave. If Klaus..." she stammered, turning in his embrace to look at him. "I`m exactly where I should be." Tyler stated calmly and that was all it took for Caroline to finally lose the battle with her tears.

Sobbing she buried her face against his shoulder. Tyler just held her, stroking her back while she cried. When she finally pulled away again he gently wiped the tears off her face. The simple, loving gesture took away at least a little of the embarrassment she felt for breaking down like that in public.

Still she looked away, blushing a little, when the others came over to them. Matt greeted Tyler with a pat on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, man." Tyler nodded and started to say something, but then his eyes were drawn to something in the distance and he stiffened. Caroline followed his line of sight and froze as well. Klaus was walking towards them, an all too friendly smile playing around his lips. Automatically her hold on Tyler tightened. The fear of losing him made her blood run cold.

Tyler forced himself to stay calm, while Klaus came nearer. Caroline inched closer and Tyler feared she might break his ribs if she kept clinging to him like that. He could see how frightened she was. He was too, but he tried his damnest not to show it. Gently he loosened Caroline`s vice-like grip. "Shh, everything is going to be alright. Trust me, okay?" She looked at him with wide, fearful eyes, but then she let go and allowed him to step in front of her, shielding her from Klaus.

The original stopped directly in front of Tyler, regarding him with a mixture of amusement and fake friendliness. "Look who we got here." he drawled. "I give you the chance to run away and save your miserable life and you don`t even use it. Whatever shall I think of that?"

Tyler saw Stefan take a step forward out of the corner of his eye. "Klaus..." But Klaus silenced him with an impatient gesture. "This does not concern you, Stefan." he stated, his eyes never leaving Tyler`s, who returned the look calmly.

"I won`t spend the rest of my life on the run. This is my home. My friends need me and I will not abandon them." he stated determined. Klaus didn`t seem impressed in the least. "You know that I`m going to kill you, don`t you?" he asked, the friendly smile never leaving his lips. Tyler heard Caroline`s shocked gasp, but didn`t turn around, instead keeping his eyes fixed on the original.

"You could kill me. But don`t you think that we`ve all suffered enough already? My whole family is dead. Two of your brothers are dead. Is that really the life you want? Nothing but sadness, pain and hate."

Klaus seemed genuinely surprised. He obviously hadn`t expected a speech like that. But Tyler knew that it wouldn`t be that easy. So he kept talking. "You could kill me, but what would it get you? Caroline would hate you. And I know you don`t want that. Wouldn`t it be far more satisfying for you, to let me live and watch me suffer? To watch me mourn all those I have lost, knowing full well that it`s my fault my mother and those hybrids died? That their blood is on my hands. Wouldn`t that be far more amusing for you, than just ripping my heart out and ending it quickly? I`m sure you don`t want to let me off so easy."

For quite some time Klaus just stared at him, his face unreadable. Then a slow smile spread over his features. "Oh, but it would be very amusing to rip your heart out." he murmured and Tyler`s courage waned.

"But, strangely enough, you`re not completely wrong. I really shouldn`t let you off that easy. I guess I`ll let you live a little longer. Then we`ll see just how amusing you can be." Grinning Klaus turned away and left. Tyler watched him leave, not really daring to believe that his gamble had paid off. He was by no means save, since you could never know when Klaus would change his mind. But at least for now it was okay.

Caroline seemed to come to the same conclusion, because she threw herself at him, almost strangling him with the force of her hug. Tyler wrapped his arms around her small frame, holding her tight. He listened to the rapid beating of her heart, felt her warmth and knew that he made the right decision.

He had promised her to find a way. And no matter how often he would have to face Klaus or risk his life, he would always find a way.

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**So, what did you think? I wrote this, because I really like Caroline and Tyler together and it`s so unfair they always have to part again.**


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